1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer systems and methods for operating a computer system for a secure mobile bill presentment and payment system that enable bill payments to be made by a user of a mobile device, a biller to send product or service messages or related information to enrolled customers in the mobile bill payment computer system, and create a marketing broadcast for a product or service that an enrolled customer can purchase via the computer system.
2. Prior Art
Each month consumers pay billions of dollars to billers in a variety of ways. There are plenty of bill payment options, such as mailing checks, making in-person payments at a walk-in bill payment center, paying over the phone, using direct debit, and paying online over the Internet.
Most people have bank accounts and pay their bills with funds held by their bank. While electronic methods such as credit and debit cards are quickly gaining popularity, writing and mailing checks continues to be the most popular form of bill payment in the United States even though it is time consuming and slow to process.
Over the past several years, the emergence of electronic payment methods has seen huge growth in adoption among bill paying consumers, but not without their own problems. Many systems only offer bill payment services, with bill presentment either not addressed, or left to traditional paper billing methods.